Accused in rape-murder of 5-year-old still at large: Police

Ghaziabad, April 2 (IANS) The man accused of raping and murdering five-year-old girl in this Uttar Pradesh district, adjoining Delhi, was still at large despite extensive searches, police said on Sunday.

Tension prevailed in Indirapuram area after the body of the girl, the daughter of a priest, was found in a half-constructed house on Friday midnight with marks of brutal rape and murder. A heavy police contingent has been deployed there.

The girl was missing since Thursday.

Three persons, including the accused Afroz’s father, brother and another man identified as Alam were detained and a police team was sent to Khagaria to arrest him, said Superintendent of Police (City) Salman Taj Patil.

Several raids were conducted at his house, Patil said.

Meanwhile, the post-mortem report confirmed the child was raped before being killed.

The residents were angry over police apathy for tracing the abducted child despite timely information.

“The crime is grave and we will arrest the culprit at the earliest. He is a drug addict and still away from family,” the SP said.

“He does not use mobile phone otherwise we would have arrested him by putting his mobile on surveillance,” he added.

Afroz, a mason by trade, had stayed in the priest’s house as a tenant but was asked to leave after a spat. According to the residents, Afroz, who had moved to a nearby house, has committed the crime to avenge the humiliation.

Meanwhile, Noida legislator Pankaj Singh, the son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, met the family members of the victim. He also talked to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and sought the financial help to the family.